January 7, 2019

NM Political Report launched four years ago today

Four years ago today, we formally welcomed readers to the site—and a lot has changed since then. When we began, Republicans held a majority of the state House and Gov. Susana Martinez had just easily won reelection. The state Senate was led by Michael Sanchez. Barack Obama was still president.

And things have changed over the years at NM Political Report as well. We’ve had reporters change their area of focus or move on to other jobs. And we’ve seen some new additions. Our Facebook page went from zero to over 17,000 likes. (Have you liked our page yet?)

We’ve also been shifting more things over the past few months, as you may have noticed.

We’ve always taken a wide view of what “politics” coverage entails—not only on elections and what laws pass, but also by focusing on things like the environment, reproductive rights and criminal justice.

One reason we look at these topics is because they aren’t typically covered by other outlets in the state or region. Online and print outlets throughout the state and region have run many of our stories. That means we’re not only doing original reporting, but spreading it to more people who otherwise wouldn’t see such coverage.

That has increasingly become our focus: reporting on important, but under-covered stories. Look for more of this here in 2019, as we start another year of our important work.

Note: If you want to make sure we can keep going for another four years, please donate. We’re a non-profit news outlet, so donations may be tax-deductible! If you want to make a monthly donation, you can do so here.

Related

More About

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday a slight easing of COVID-19 restrictions, while also announcing some increased restrictions as of Saturday, May 16.
While Lujan Grisham said the state would start allowing retailers and some other businesses to open to the public with capacity limitations, she also said the new public health emergency order will require everyone in the state to wear a face and nose covering when in public spaces.
She said many businesses, with the exception of entertainment businesses like movie theaters, could open this weekend as long as they keep their capacity at 25 percent of what the fire code allows. She said those businesses must also continue to take certain precautions against spreading COVID-19.
Large retail “box” stores would have their capacity capped at 20 percent.

Public health orders restricting some businesses and public gatherings are slowly being lifted, but the New Mexico Supreme Court’s restrictions on eviction proceedings and limitations on civil cases in general are still in place. State Supreme Court Justice Shannon Bacon said she expects an increase of civil cases once courts are fully functioning.
“What we’re anticipating with the health pandemic and the downturn of the economy and a really high unemployment rate are issues that really raise their head in the same way they did in 2008 and 2009 with the recession,” Bacon said.

Join the Conversation on Twitter

Recent Posts

A day after state health officials announced the highest single-day number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, they announced 129 additional confirmed cases and five additional deaths related to the disease.

State Human Services Department Secretary Dr. David Scrase offered some data supporting the use of masks and social distancing to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
The use of face masks in public has become a polarizing topic among some communities as the state has loosened its restrictions on businesses, including closures, over the last week.
While cloth masks aren’t suitable for use in healthcare settings, Scrase said they are still useful at preventing the spread of the illness among the general public.

Public health orders restricting some businesses and public gatherings are slowly being lifted, but the New Mexico Supreme Court’s restrictions on eviction proceedings and limitations on civil cases in general are still in place.

Matthew Reichbach is the editor of the NM Political Report. The former founder and editor of the NM Telegram, Matthew was also a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and one of the original hires at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation and formerly published, “The Morning Word,” a daily political news summary for NM Telegram and the Santa Fe Reporter.